Informal family carers and lack of personal time: Descriptions of being outside the sphere of formal help

Abstract

The aim of this article is to study manifestations of uncomfortable familial commitments. The connection of such commitments to informal family carers' descriptions of problems in accessibility of services and to descriptions of preferences regarding limited use of formal help is examined. The data consists of 21 qualitative interviews of Finnish persons who, alongside their gainful employment, cared for their parent(s). It is argued that the lives of adult children and parent(s) needing care and help are interdependent, and various uncomfortable familial commitments exist due to problems in service provision (accessibility of services) or the reluctance of parents to accept formal help (use of services). These commitments are manifested in a lack of personal time. Furthermore, lack of personal time can be manifested in a lack of physical time. However, it can also be manifested in a lack of ‘happy-go-lucky time’ (time without continuous concern) or ‘autonomous’ time. Social care services enable working carers to have respite from the otherwise continuous concern and worry about the well-being of parent(s). However, receiving formal help is contextualized both with structural rationales and individual and familial rationales. Consequently, policies improving the possibilities of combining work and care solely by service accessibility might not be helpful for those carers who face the reluctance of their parent(s) to accept services.